Martyn Rooney

Martyn Rooney

Martyn is a British athlete who specialises in the 400m and 4x400m relay. He is a double 400m European Champion and reached the final at the 2008 Olympics, as well as winning bronze in the relay. We spoke about his best ever race, the current state of British Athletics and what the future holds for the longtime servant of Team GB.

The London-born athlete has spent much of his career Loughborough-based, where he lives with his wife - former British pole vault record-holder Kate Rooney (née Dennison) - and their two children. A longtime servant of Team GB and former Team Captain, Martyn had medalled at every level, including double-gold at the European Championships, bronze at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games and silver at the 2009 World Championships.

I first came to known Martyn in mid-2006 while studying at Loughborough University. I remember watching him wipe the floor with lesser student-athletes at the BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sport) Championships and training at the track in flashes of Nike kit that wasn’t yet available to the public. That same year, he represented England in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, setting a new British Junior Record [45.35], previously held by Roger Black for 20 years. He had burst onto the scene and broken into Team GB, comfortably running under the 45-second barrier while making the podium at various Championships along the way. His PB of 44:45 is the fourth fastest by a British athlete, and his 43.7 relay split remains the second-fastest ever by a Briton.

We spoke right before Martyn heads into serious winter training, catching up on many things in what is probably the athlete's most in-depth and forthcoming interview to-date. He touches on the difficulty of training over the past few months, how self-coaching compares to group training, what the BBC needs to do to better its athletics coverage, scoffing on buckets of M&Ms and a rather uninspiring pep-talk from Michael Johnson.

How does a typical day compare now to one pre-COVID?

Once the Olympics was postponed and the qualification period was suspended, I made the decision to leave it there. My focus wasn’t about competing; why spank my body chasing races that may not even happen. Instead, I used it as an opportunity to take advantage as I’ve been crying out for a season in which I can switch off - physically and mentally - which I probably should have done after Rio [in 2016]. Then, in 2017 it was about qualification for the World Champs and in 2018 it was the Europeans which I had a pass for as the defending champion. In 2019, it was all about qualification for the Olympics, and even though I was focused on the relay and did my job, I knackered myself out.

I have been training a lot, still. Some stuff on the road and on the bike too. British Athletics have been brilliant. They gave me a bike and some gym equipment, so I was able to lift at home, but found it cramped and missed the gym. Once I was allowed back on the track, I focused on speed work and tried to avoid anything that was going to hurt! If I wasn’t going to race, then nothing long or painful on the track. I thought about speed and turnover, aspects of racing where I felt I was lacking, and worked on that. It has been an excellent opportunity to fine-tune. I’ve had some pacing sessions too, working with other athletes like Guy Learmonth (800m) and Jess Turner (400m hurdles).

I managed to get a good month of treatment with the physio, which I needed, making sure that I was moving correctly and wasn’t going to break. Compared to my usual diet, that’s kinda gone out of the window! And unlike this time of the year usually, I have been able to travel with my family, and we’ve spent a few days on the south coast and travelling to Anglesey in Wales - spending time we’ve my two kids has been great!

Javon Francis of Jamaica and Martyn Rooney of Great Britain compete in the Men's 4x400 metres relay heats during the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships Moscow 2013 at Luzhniki Stadium on August 15, 2013, in Moscow, Russia. Source: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images.

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics moving to 2021, how will your training adapt? Are you planning on a hard winter and outdoor racing in the spring, or travelling abroad for warm weather training?

Planning is still in-the-air. I’m on lottery funding for another year, but that’s probably going to change for a lot of people as we move into a new year. There are a lot of athletes who deserve funding, having had a great winter, but now they haven’t been able to travel and compete. I’m secure, for now. We’ll just have to wait and see.

As much as I’ve enjoyed summer, I’m ready now for some hard work. Training starts again proper this month [September], and while I’d typically race through until mid-September, now I’ll be having a long and painful winter with competitions. I’ve trained with groups before but post-2016, I’ve been doing stuff mostly on my own. This winter, I’ll be joining back up with Nick Dakin at Loughborough. There are some young talented athletes in the group, people like Alex Knibbs (400m hurdles) and Seamus Derbyshire (400m hurdles); young, talented boys who have been pushing me in training - battering me, sometimes. I’m looking to be a lot fitter and better prepared for the Olympic Games. There’s meant to be a training camp in Dubai in December and one in Mauritius in January, so hopefully, I’ll attend both of them. We’ll have to see if people are allowed to travel by then. I think the domestic competition - at club level - will improve with fewer athletes travelling and chasing times abroad, and that’s something I want to be part of.

You’ve attended a lot of training camps over the years - any gossip on athletes? The laziest? Worst cook? Any X-rated stories? Or are you sworn to secrecy?

I can’t dish out any gossip, I’m afraid - I’m still on the GB team! The first year I met Matt Hudson-Smith, in 2014, he was meant to race me in Clairmont, and I think he got a bit scared because, well, this is how his story goes: he cooked some chicken, but it was raw inside and he came down with food poisoning. He actually seemed fine when I saw him, so not sure I believe that. The rumour was that he couldn’t cook, but maybe he’s better at it now? David Gillick always tells a story about me, when we were in California, and I had one of those huge American pots filled with raisins, and I finished them off and then filled the pot up with M&Ms.

As far as crazy things happening in training camps, there was the accident in 2017 with James Ellington and Nigel Levine. I was there in Tenerife and on reflection, wish I’d stood up and just said to them, “Look, stop messing around and being a d**khead!” I’d already convinced them not to go out on a boat and should have done the same for the motorbike - that’s a real regret of mine. They’re both good people and great athletes whose careers were cut short. We really missed Nigel in the relay and James was coming into peak shape - I saw him in training, and he was demolishing 10-flat sprinters, moving in a way I’d never seen him do before.

Laziest athletes? Hahaha, there are loads and loads of them!

Martyn Rooney poses during a Team England media opportunity ahead of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre on April 1, 2018, in Brisbane. Source: Getty Images AsiaPac

You’ve been Loughborough-based since your uni days, correct? You must have seen a lot of athletes and training groups come and go, but who have been some of your best training partners?

I came to Loughborough in 2005 as a college student, studying for a foundation in sports science and management, which I never finished. That’s a big regret of mine. I moved away to Birmingham briefly after the 2012 Olympics, but I didn’t really get on with the city and missed Loughborough as a base. It can come in for some stick sometimes, people calling Loughborough small and boring but as a full-time athlete, I sleep, train and repeat.

There’s little free time, and when you have a family, then that’s where your time goes. You see those guys out in Kenya and what is there to do there, except train. If you’re a full-time athlete, then there aren’t many better places to be than here [Loughborough], and I count the UK and Europe in that, too. It ticks a lot of boxes. If the weather was better, then I’m sure it would attract more athletes. And, of course, Loughborough is where I met my wife.

Yeah, a lot of groups and athletes. I trained with Dakin from 2005 to 2012, then in Birmingham for a bit before returning. Then training with Rana Reider from 2013 to 2016. After Rio in 2016, it was a bit more difficult because I couldn’t afford coaching or travelling - Reider was based in Holland - and my son was born, things were very different. I trained with Graham Headman too, an ex-GB 400m runner, and then I self-trained in 2019 which was really sh*t, and now I’m back with Dakin.

I had a great group with Dakin back in the early days with Headman, Gillick, Nathan Woodward, Chris Clarke, Richard Davenport and Matt Elias. Chris was that special talent in the group, who never realised his potential. I had a great training and social relationship with Gillick. The training was hard, but we pushed one another and got the best out of each other. Rana’s was the best group I’ve ever seen, though. I was surrounded by Olympic Champions and World medalists. People like Christian Taylor (triple jump) were at the track, who’s all fun and games until training begins and his level of focus was just extraordinary, which is why he’s World and Olympic Champion. In that sprint group, I was probably at the bottom of the rung. Every session was about pushing yourself and trying to shine.

Under Rana, I won two European titles [2014 and 2016] and ran a PB [44.45sec in Beijing]. It was incredible to be part of something like that. The experience taught me what it takes to win on a global level. My whole attitude changed because of him; and I went to 2014 Europeans in Zurich knowing that if I didn’t win, then I’d be a failure - even finishing second meant failure.

Martyn Rooney during the 4x400 Metres Relay Final at the 16th IAAF World Athletics Championships London 2017 at The London Stadium on August 13, 2017. Source: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images.

Matthew Hudson-Smith, Dwayne Cowan, Rabah Yousif and Martyn Rooney pose with their bronze medals for the 4x400 Metres Relay at the 16th IAAF World Athletics Championships London 2017 on August 13, 2017. Source: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images.

400m training is famously brutal (a lot of speed endurance, lactic acid and trackside puking), but what’s the worst session of all?

Ah man, lactic is hard, but I find sprinting harder than a lactic session. My body suits lactic, it’s something I’ve become comfortable with. I actually enjoy the pain and the feeling of it. Sprinting, though, can hit my body in a way that just makes me feel… dead. I used to think sprint training was easy because it’s over so quickly. Sessions like 60m or 80 repeats would take me three or four days to recover from. My favourite lactic sessions are the ones like 450m, 350m, 250m, 150m hitting a 12-second pace per 100m with six minutes recovery. I’d try and hit 22 seconds for the 200m in the 250m. For the 150m, you just smash it!

My hardest ever session was with Rana: 3 x 300m off 10 minutes recovery, running 32-33 second pace, which is race pace for me. The first rep was low-33 and the second rep, high-32. After that, I thought there’s no way he’s going to get me to do the last rep, but he called over to get me ready for the final rep. I reran low-33 but was totally done afterwards, just broken.

UK Athletics has been criticised for the handling of its relationship with prominent American coach Alberto Salazar (who was banned for four years for doping violations). There have also been several resignations in key leadership roles in the past year, with the chairman and chief executive stepping down. What reforms need to take place to better support athletes and do you think UK Athletics should be reaching out to current and ex-athletes for advice and guidance?

Firstly, Mo [Mohamed Farah] chose to work with Salazar. Mo wasn’t on UK funding because of his contract with Nike. Maybe Nike encouraged it, but at the end of the day, it was his decision. He did what he felt was best for his career. Salazar getting band doesn’t look good on Mo, but that doesn’t reflect on him or on British Athletics.

Neil Black passed [the former UK Athletics Performance Director died April 2020], and I was a huge fan of his. I didn’t always agree with him, but he was a good mate and was someone important to me during my career. Barry Fudge stepped down as Head of Endurance in June and is another Mo Farah casualty. Rob Chakraverty too. That one really annoyed me, as Rob is a great doctor who is very athlete-centred. His name has been dragged through the dirt, and that’s a real shame. He paid the price for decisions that came from above, losing his job and his status.

Joanna Coates is the new CEO at British Athletics, and I’ve had a chat with her. She is very positive. Her knowledge and understanding of Athletics are not important to me, but she seems to have fresh ideas and is under no allusion that the sport has been failing in the past. British Athletics, I think, had become events coordinated and poor at promoting athletes. She is well-connected, and during our talk, I actually mentioned the darts, and she told me that she knew Barry Hearn [sporting events promoter] who has helped grow that sport and open it up to new fans. That’s what we need.

The sport needs to improve and find better ways of marketing itself. Look at darts and the UFC, these are sports that have worked to attract new fans. The NFL in the UK, too! Street-meets are amazing and allow fans to see athletes up-close. That closeness, that bond is so important; you can see and feel the strength, speed, power of the athlete right before your eyes.

The domestic scene will have to improve, as well. Club athletics is something I neglected, and I regret that. I’m told that numbers are dwindling and that needs to change. We need more young people to get involved, more talent coming through at the domestic level to compete for selection at the international level. I hear people talk about the glory days, but when and in what sense? I watch videos and apart from the Coe-Ovett duel, there haven’t really been sellouts since. When Iwan Thomas ran the 400m British record [1997], the stadium was pretty much empty, I don’t care what people say, you look down the home straight and there was an entire stand empty.

I’m involved in mentoring some of the younger sprinters, along with some ex-400m greats. It means that athletes can call us if they need some support. I help out with athletes aged between 16 and 18. I see this as something that needs to be rolled out as more of a regular thing. If you’re a full-time athlete on funding, and you’re in your early or mid-thirties, then you have a responsibility to help younger athletes. Some athletes need that support, to establish a connection with another athlete, an experienced athlete, who they can turn to. It’s really, really important. There needs to be something official put into place, an organised mentoring scheme.

I remember Michael Johnson speaking to us before the 2012 Olympics, and it was rubbish! He was already a global superstar going into the 1996 Olympics and was World Champion with the organisers moving the events to help him achieve his sprint double. I would much rather have heard from someone who was not a superstar and just part of the team, to listen to them about how they prepared and any advice they might have.

You've raced in Olympic and major Championship finals, but what was your best 400m?

My easiest 400m was in Monaco 2008. I had just run in London, and it was the first time I ran sub-44, and two or three days later I raced in Monaco, winning in 44:72. I remember getting to 300m and feeling really comfortable and relaxed - I even looked at the clock, and it read 32:40. I strode down the home straight - not sprinting - and I passed the two guys ahead of me. One of them had approached me before the race and said to me that he was “going to destroy” me. I always think that had I rolled off the top bend with a bit more pace then it would have been so much faster. Had someone like LaShawn Merritt been ahead and I had someone to chase down, then perhaps I would have gone quicker?

I guess the best was my PB run in Beijing in 2015. It wasn’t a perfect race, but I did rise to the occasion and run a PB. It was the second heat, and I went into the tunnel knowing that it was going to be quick, that they’d be no hiding. There were champions in every heat! I came forth, qualifying as the sixth fastest on the day. If I hadn’t run 44.45, then I probably wouldn’t have qualified. Then, in the semis, I ran 45.0-something and was just done, totally fried!

Who's the best athlete you've ever faced?

Pretty simple - Wayde van Niekerk. I’ve raced Jeremy Wariner, Steven Gardiner, Fred Kerley and LaShawn Merritt, so many fantastic 400m runners, but Wayde has this special ability to almost hide; you don’t even know he’s there, and then whoosh! He’s running past you. The first time I raced him was in 2014. I was in lane 7, and he was in lane 3. There was a huge headwind down the back straight, and he just blew past me at 180m like the wind was on his side.

Matthew Hudson-Smith passes the baton to Martyn Rooney in Round One of the Men's 4 x 400m Relay at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, August 19, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Source: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images South America.

Is there such a thing as the perfect race?

Yeah, of course. In any event. There are days when you just don’t touch the ground. I remember watching Bolt versus Gay in Berlin, and the way there were competing was just incredible. David Rudisha (800m), there you go, that’s one. That was the perfect race in the perfect weather on the perfect stage. Personally, I don’t really like London as a stadium, but plenty of people do. It was a warm evening for the Olympic final, with a crowd of 80,000-plus people and the guy did what he needed to do. I saw Bolt at an after-party and - well, to be honest, we were both pretty drunk - and we started talking about Rudisha and Bolt was screaming “Yooo! Mannn! The guy was pumping!”

Do you have any lucky, pre-race superstitions?

Not really, just feeling clean and fresh before every race. I have a shower and make sure all of my kit is new and not creased. That’s it really.

A lot of athletes stick around the sport after they retire, going into coaching or broadcasting. What's in store for you? Will we see you trackside cheering on the sprinters of tomorrow or on the BBC commentating?

A lot of people do hang about the sport after retiring. I guess I should really have a plan. I’ve only ever made money by competing. This winter I have already planned lots of courses, across different sports. I work as an assessor at Loughborough College already, trying to build up my CV. I’d like to write, I’ve always enjoyed that. I’m not a writer, but I enjoy the process of writing. Plus, I have a podcast with Dan Greaves [That Greaves & Rooney Sports Podcast]. It’s really just a grumpy old man (me) and a sensible man (Dan) talking athletics and interviewing athletes.

As for commenting, I’d like the BBC to change its format. Going to the studio just takes the viewer away from the action and away from the current athletes to listen to older, ex-athletes. Plus, a lot of pundits just seem to talk about themselves and how amazing they used to be. There are great ones, like Steve Cram, Tim Hutchings, Steve Backley, Geoff Wightman, Katherine Merry and Iwan. Not sure if that’s for me, though. I would like to be involved in the GB relay programme. I probably have the most relay experience - both positive and negative. I feel like I could help young athletes and really offer something there. I love the sport and think there are some great young athletes in the UK coming through. I’ll always watch athletics and am happy to help and support.

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That Greaves & Rooney Sports Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts